People vs pesticides - Friends of the Earth 2021

People vs pesticides The story of how your generosity and activism fueled a big victory for bees!

Illustrated by Maki Naro

Friends of the Earth | November 2021

Over 1bn pounds of pesticides are used in the U.S. annually. One of the most common is chlorpyrifos, which is deadly to bees and causes brain damage in children.

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In fact, chlorpyrifos is so harmful that the Obama administration proposed banning it. But Trump’s EPA ignored the science and refused to ban this pesticide.

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This was a devastating blow for bees, people and the planet. And a suspicious one. Dow, maker of chlorpyrifos, donated $1m to Trump’s inauguration committee!

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Bee lovers were furious, but ready to fight back.

Thousands of generous Members like you donated and sent petitions to your elected leaders demanding a ban 4

And your gifts helped fund our Bee Friendly Retailer Scorecard, highlighting the harms of chlorpyrifos and the urgent need to get it out of our food system.

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In December 2019, thanks to Members like you who protested, called, and wrote to legislators, New York joined California and Hawaii in banning chlorpyrifos!

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And at the federal level, thousands of Members called on their legislators to support a bill protecting children, farmers and farmworkers from the pesticide.

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February 2020 marked a huge moment in our campaign – Corteva (formerly Dow Chemical), the manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, announced it will stop making the pesticide!

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Another victory, this time in Maryland! Powered by your gifts, our campaigners led lobby days and rallied Members like you to convince the state to ban chlorpyrifos.

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With our momentum growing, it was time for the final push. Thousands of you signed petitions asking President Biden to keep his campaign pledge to act on pesticides.

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Victory! In August 2021 Biden’s EPA announced it will ban chlorpyrifos, thanks to your support and years of hard work by our many allies, activists and campaigners!

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But the fight continues.

Please join us as we call on the EPA to ban neonics, the deadliest bee-killing pesticides, and demand that Kroger stop selling food produced with pollinator-toxic pesticides!

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Save our Pollinators Our work continues, but we need your support to step up our efforts to save our pollinators and our planet.

Make your gift to Friends of the Earth today by visiting foe.org/fight-for-bees.

Friends of the Earth | November 2021